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This is a heart with life in it, as well as illness. The former sustains it at one moment, the latter at another, and it follows whichever one of the two manages to dominate it. It has love for Allah, faith in Him, sincerity towards Him, and reliance upon Him, and these are what give it life. It also has a craving for lust and pleasure, and prefers them and strives to experience them. It is full of self-admiration, which can lead to its own destruction. It listens to two callers: one calling it to Allah and His Prophet salallaahu ‘Alaihi wa salaam and the akhira; and the other calling it to the fleeting pleasures of this world. It responds to whichever one of the two happens to have most influence over it at the time. – By Ibn Qayyim

And may the peace and blessings be upon him whom there is no prophet after.

Sitting in a halaqah–in a khutbah–in an AlMaghrib class, learning about the deen of Allah– the emanrush, your heart just flutters with tranquility. With satisfaction. With humility. With peace.

Why do we only feel this way in these gatherings?

Allah azza wa jal provides the answer:

He says in Surah Ra’d ayah 28:

الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ أَلاَ بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوب
Those who have believed and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, it is the remembrance of Allah which provides tranquility to hearts.

The true believers are those who find peace in the remembrance of Allah. Their hearts find rest. Their hearts are still. Their hearts find satisfaction. When dhikr (the mention of Allah) is made in their presence, their hearts find assurance and security. Dhikr, in this verse, can be the Qur’an or any deed that includes the remembrance of Allah. The Qur’an is the most effective dhikr because it is a shifaa’, a cure, for any illness in our chests.

The believers in this verse are those who remember Allah, recognize His ayaat, and are conscious of their emaan. Their hearts are the ones that find peace and security in the remembrance of Allah.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمد لله وحده

و الصلاة و السلام على من لا نبي بعده

What am I talking about here? Am I talking about the 8 cylinder motor in your Cadillac? It’s a riddle, one of my favorite things. Because I don’t like using a lot of real estate, let me get to the point.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said,من سلك طريقا يلتمس فيه علما، سهل الله له طريقا إلى الجنة“Whoever embarks on a path to seek knowledge, Allah facilitates for him the path to Jannah.”

How’s that for motivation? The feeling you get when you’re on the road, traveling on the black asphalt, with the wind blowing in your face…………(okay okay, I’ll stop) 🙂 For real though, there really is a sense of peace that Allah puts in your heart when you are on the road to seek knowledge. Leaving your worldly priorities behind and dropping them for your journey to knowledge.

One big chunk of the traveling experience is the group of friends or acquaintances you travel with. You actually begin to learn about who they are deep down inside and what bothers them. But in all honesty, it really is a bonding experience between all the people in the ride. You share some laughs, and you discuss some controversial issues, and just have a good time worshiping Allah together. This fact reminds me of and makes me appreciate the wisdom of Umar ibn al Khattab, who considered traveling with somebody one of the three definitive ways to really get to know who a person is. You want to know what the other two are, dont ya? Well, the other two are: 2. Doing business with a person, and 3. Being a long time companion of a person.

Probably though, the worst part of traveling with some friends to seek knowledge is at the end of the trip, when everyone is being dropped off at their houses or cars, and say their goodbyes. So sappy, so corny it is, but yet, how true it is.

During this past Heavenly Hues class, Shaykh Yaser Birjas (may Allah preserve him) held a special session after lunch for about half an hour with all of the volunteers. In it, he described his time growing up and how he became serious about practicing Islam. One of the brothers/sisters on the forums posted an transcript of Shaykh Yaser’s speech to their class at Qabeelah Haadi which is much more detailed, but somewhat similar to what he told us as well. For the benefit of everyone who was unable to attend that session, I am pasting the post below.

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Shaykh YasirQadhi had a special question to Shaykh Yaser Birjas, which was broadcasted in our Heavenly Hues class:

“Fellow Haadians, I welcome you all to this beautiful class being taught by our beloved Sheikh and brother, Sheikh Yaser Birjas.

Believe me, it gives me great jealousy that you are attending this class right now, I wish that I could be sitting in your seat right here and now to benefit from the prose and wisdom that our dearly beloved Sheikh and brother in Islam, Sh. Yaser Birjas is giving all of you.

My question to you my dear Sheikh is: can you please tell us a little bit about yourself and about your path and journey to Islam, and how you ended up studying Islam and going to the University of Medina? What are the major scholars you studied with and your favorite subject that you took, some of the anecdotes of your personal life, especially the time you spent with our dear Sheikh Muhammad ibn Salih al Uthaymeen, do you have any stories that truly inspires you?

My request to my fellow Haadians is, beacuse I won’t be there to take the answer from our Sh. Yaser Birjas, can you please post the answers on the forums so that all of us can benefit from what he has to say.

Lastly, I advise all of you to “milk” as much as you can out of Sh. Yaser Birjas and benefit from his wisdom. Really and truly, he is one of the greatest source of inspiration and blessings that I, personnaly, have in this country.
May Allah azza wa jal increase him and all of us in their benefit, barakah and knowledge.”

Below is a quick transcription of what he said… please forgive me for the mistakes and for what I couldn’t take down.

The amount of benefit from Ilm Fest 08 was amazingly great as expected. I learned so much alhamdulillah but I’ll share just one of the things that really “touched” me. Someone asked Shaykh Waleed the following question, “Whenver I gain new knoweldge I feel proud, is this wrong?”

Shaykh Waleed in his cute accent replied “Scholars say Knoweldge is of three levels…” This is when I started listening very carefully because to me whatever was to be uttered from his tongue afterwards was very important. The levels of knowelge are…

1) Pride – This is the first level when a person feels proud that he/she has learned something new that others do not know.

2) Humbleness – After he/she has gained more knoweldge then they reach this level and become more humble.

3) Ignorance – This is the highest level when a person realizes that how much he/she really does not know.

I thought that was very intresting and TRUE! I hope this benefitted everyone 🙂

To reflect upon is to think about, give thought to, consider, review, mull over, contemplate, cogitate, meditate on, brood on, turn over in one’s mind. Reflection is sort of like chewing; you can chew just enough to swallow and get the whole thing over with (brussel sprouts), or you can chew and chew and chew in order to fully savor every yummy morsel (chocolate). I feel like I’ve been chewing on Heavenly Hues since the last class ended and it’s still as sweet as the first bite. Yum!

So, now would be the time to point out that if you’re looking for inspiration, this is probably not gonna be the post to give it to you. Sorry. (But really the whole chewing metaphor should’ve been your first clue.) Just posting this reflection is an odd enough experience. As a newcomer to Al-Maghrib classes, at times during the course of the course (ha!) I felt like the weird new person who intrudes upon a party already in progress. You know the one who walks in and immediately trips over the cord and brings everything to a screeching halt and suddenly has all eyes on them? Yup, that’s kinda what it felt like. It wasn’t uninviting, mashAllah I met some really nice sisters. I was just new. People were discussing previous courses and using acronyms and laughing at previously told stories and I was still trying to figure out where to park my car. So what could I possibly say that someone hasn’t said before? What insights could I give that haven’t already been given in a more eloquent fashion? What if my whole post turns out to be a trip the cord moment? Eh, oh well. Here goes…

The quick and short version is this – I thoroughly enjoyed Heavenly Hues. I mean, who didn’t? It was thought provoking and probing. It was enlightening. MashaAllah, it was amazing. The morsels of knowledge that Shaykh Yaser doled out like so much yummy chocolate were at once soothing and jarring, accessible and yet just out of reach. Sort of like a comforting reality check, if that makes any sense.

I think the best way to sum up what Heavenly Hues meant for me is to briefly (and clumsily) expound upon a metaphor that Shaykh Yaser presented during the class – that of the ocean and the one who possesses knowledge. The ocean at its deepest is quiet and still and it takes an expert to reach its depths and discover the treasures hidden within. At the shore however, that same ocean is a source of constant noise and shallow enough that even a passerby can wade in and pick from it as they choose. Heavenly Hues was for me like a dip into the center of the ocean; a chance to get away from the noise at the shore (bar exams, work, etc.) and take solitude in the beauties and wonders of the Quran. Alhamdulillah! What a gem!

It’s our first weekend after Heavenly Hues, and while reading Zulander’s post, I was reminded of the hadith of our beloved Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam. He stated that, “the Shaytaan continually pursues humans as a wolf pursues sheep. The wolf only dares to attack those sheep which have separated from the rest of the flock and are standing alone…” (Imam Ahmad).I think this is such an awesome hadith. It challenges our conventional understanding of will power and inner strength. It emphasizes that the essence of the individual is, in all aspects of his being, dependent on his community. Dependent on his brothers and sisters to safeguard his life, his iman, and his link to Allah. It’s this trust and reliance that has me coming back to Al Maghrib seminar after seminar after seminar. The protection of my heart is in the hands of my brethren, and within Qabeelat Nurayn that I feel my heart is most safe; amongst a group of Muslims who strive to please Allah subhanhu wa ta’ala, who strive to implement the sunnah, and who struggle to be believers. This last seminar is a testament to our efforts. Through our mutual goal of bettering ourselves, we were able to provide nearly 180 students a clear understanding of the Quran. It’s our collective efforts, by Allah’s permission, that are allowing us develop and sustain a thriving community. That’s so impressive, maashaAllah! I truly feel blessed to be part of the revival, the New Reign within Nurayn 🙂 Mariam 3:36 said it best- being part of Nurayn has redefined friendship. And subhanAllah, between a flock of sheep and a loner, friendship could mean your life..–Written by Little Bo Peep
‘baaaaaa’

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمد لله وحده

و الصلاة و السلام على من لا نبي بعده

During the final session of Ilm Fest, and as a change of pace, the shuyookh were asked to share how their path for ilm was inspired or started, and also to share a story from their life, be it emotional, funny, embarrassing, or a combination.

Shaykh Waleed Basyouni spoke of a hilarious and embarrassing story in his life, Yasir Qadhi about how he was inspired to seek knowledge, and shaykh Muhammad Ibn Faqih about a moment in his life with his father.Prior to Shaykh Ibn Faqih, Abdulbary Yahya gave his story, and Ibn Faqih mentioned that this one, Abdulbary, was the strongest amongst them.

Shaykh Abdulbary went right into his story, wasting no time.

About two years after 9/11, his father was shot outside the masjid, his father being the last person after Isha prayer.

His father called him, “Abdulbary”!

Shakyh Abdulbary ran out the back door to his father, and blood was coming out of the abdomen of his father.His father then looked at him, and said “Ashadu an laa illaha ill’Allah, wa ashadu anna Muhammad Rasool’Allah.”Read the rest of this entry »

During the Texas Dawah Conference, Shaykh Yasir Fazaqa was telling us about this one time he had to travel out of town. He said that he was emailing his wife everyday, but on one occasion he chose to call her instead of emailing. His wife responded by asking why he didn’t send an email, and he was like ‘why do I have to send an email if I called you instead?’ She responded saying that when he calls her, she only gets to talk to him for a few minutes, but with an email, she can read it over and over for days.

Although I’m not married, I too have this feeling sometimes…except I get the feeling when going through my old AlMaghrib notes (sad, but true). The sweetness of taking notes in a seminar, reviewing those notes later on, and having those notes remind you of everything that happened in class is truly a blessing from Allah. Just today I was reviewing the notes of my favorite AlMaghrib seminar ever, Rays of Faith.

There were many gems in the seminar, but one story that Shaykh Waleed (hafithahullah) mentioned that really amazes me every time I read it is when he told us about the Prophet (ﺻﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭ ﺳﻠﻢ) and Aisha (ﺭﺿﻲ ﷲ ﻋﻨﻬﺎ). The shaykh mentioned that one time the Prophet (ﺻﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭ ﺳﻠﻢ) made dua for Aisha (ﺭﺿﻲ ﷲ ﻋﻨﻬﺎ) by saying: “O Allah forgive Aisha and her sins of the past, and her sins that she has currently done, and forgive anything that she may do in the future.” Aisha (ﺭﺿﻲ ﷲ ﻋﻨﻬﺎ) smiled when hearing this and the Prophet (ﺻﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭ ﺳﻠﻢ) said “O Aisha, does this make you happy?” She said yes. He replied saying, “by Allah I make this dua for my ummah after every salaah”Read the rest of this entry »

I just spoke to Shaykh Yasir Birjas, ustadhuna, our dear beloved teacher. He has issued a challenge to the qaba’il of Al-Maghrib. I am in fear, for our qabeelah has gone through many afflictions. Have we the courage to take up this task? Can we answer the call by our dear shaykh? Are we ready?

The challenge is to have 500 gems by the last Sunday of the Heavenly Hues seminar. That is the primary objective. The secondary task is to have 8,000 hits on our gem thread in the forums. Yes, eight thousand.